Forensic Analysis · Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Biotech · as of Jun 27, 2026
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA)
A forensic read on Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
D · Weak — demands caution
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-16.7
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
6
Forensic signals
-57.3%
ROE
$637M
Market cap
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -16.7, placing it in the Distress zone. 6 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio.
What the filings flag
+75.4%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +75.4% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building sharply — a large slice of profit sits in operating assets, not cash; Richardson/Sloan link high accruals to weaker future returns as they reverse. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -57% of net operating assets.
52d DSOReceivables vs revenue.Days sales outstanding moved from 35 to 52 days FY2024→FY2025 (receivables +10% vs revenue -25%). Receivables are outrunning sales — a flag for aggressive revenue recognition or slipping collections.
-29%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -29% and rising from -166% — well below its ~10% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+10.7%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +32% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+10.7%/yr). A reversal: the count shrank earlier (net -15.9%/yr since FY2019) but the company has SWUNG to issuing stock — recent holders are now being diluted, not rewarded. That's ~10.7% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~32%.
stoppedShareholder returns — halted.Capital returns have STOPPED — $25M of buybacks + dividends in FY2021, but ~$0 in FY2023. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash; understand why before reading it as neutral.
48% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 48% of revenue in FY2025 — about $1.47 per diluted share. Meaningful — reported free cash flow flatters the economics, since SBC is a real cost paid in shares.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-183.8%
Free Cash Flow$-178.7M
Latest Revenue$170.2M
Return on Equity-61.5%
Revenue Growth YoY-25.1%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about DNA's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown